Cannot modify '/etc/hosts' as administrator

This is how I do it.

1 - drag /etc/hosts file to Desktop - with normal permissions this will result in a copy on the Desktop

2 - edit with BBEdit Lite - or any other clean text editor

3 - drag edited version to /etc folder

4 - agree to Authenticate and then Replace - admin password is required for this

5 - Restart to use modified hosts file.

Good luck

For reasons only you know, you have locked the hosts file, as well as adding an inappropriate ACL to the etc directory. I'll limit myself to fixing the hosts file. Enter the following command in the same way as before -- NO TYPING:

sudo chflags nouchg /etc/hosts

You'll be prompted for your password, which won't be displayed when you type it. Type nothing in the window except your password. Then quit Terminal.

Simplest is to copy the current hosts file to something like host.bak, then drag a copy to the Desktop. Open it in TextEdit, make the changes you want to make to it, save it as plain text, retaining the name hosts. Then, change its permissions with this command:

sudo chown root:wheel "path to file"?hosts

and then run this command:

sudo cp "path to file"/hosts /private/etc/hosts

Restart and your revised hosts file should be in play.

More info in http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20100423134359860

Also, check the More like this box on this page.

FWIW, this is what the original looks like:

##

# Host Database

#

# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface

# when the system is booting. Do not change this entry.

##

127.0.0.1 localhost

255.255.255.255 broadcasthost

::1 localhost

fe80::1%lo0 localhost

You should NOT change the permissions on /private and /private/etc. I suggest you run Disk Utility Repair Permissions and hope that it restores the permissions to what they should be. This is what the permissions should be:

/bin/ls -ldeo@ /private /private/etc

drwxr-xr-x@ 6 root wheel hidden 204 Oct 8 2011 /private

com.apple.FinderInfo 32

drwxr-xr-x 104 root wheel - 3536 Nov 22 13:09 /private/etc

"sudo nano /private/etc/hosts" should have worked, as well as the sudo vi command. Can you explain why it did not, as that might indicate either a simple misunderstanding, or an underlying problem.

And finally, can you explain why you think you need to change the 'hosts' file? Maybe there is a better alternative.

I've always used BBEdit or TextWrangler to edit the hosts file, since they take care of things such as navigating to those normally invisible places, line endings, etc, and will prompt for authorization.

By the way, an admin account does not automatically have access to everything (the hosts file is ownwed by root).

I realise this was not a reply to me but I get:

drwxr-xr-x 90 root wheel - 3060 30 Nov 09:10 /private/etc

-rw-r--r--@ 1 neville staff - 582566 28 Nov 16:30 /private/etc/hosts

What do you conclude from this?

I don't know how you got that ACL on the /etc folder, but your hosts file is locked (that uchg is the user immutable flag). Only the owner or root can change that flag (the owner in this case is root), so as an admin user you can use sudo:

sudo chflags nouchg private/etc/hosts

ACLs = access control lists are described in the manpage for chmod. Access it via the man chmod command.

Info on flags in man chflags and described in http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20031017061722471

Update to correct fat-fingering error:

sudo chown root:wheel "path to file"?hosts

should read

sudo chown root:wheel "path to file"/hosts

Normally, dragging it to the Desktop changes the file's ownership to you; thus, my recommendation to restore the appropriate ownership and group permissions.

It does change it to read/write for myself and read only for everybody else but this does not do any harm.

Please post the output of the following command:

ls -Odel /private/etc; ls -Oel $_/hosts